A man with dark hair and a beard, Max A. Butler, sitting on Jack White's large, high-back, tufted leather armchair with a brick wall background in the back office of Third Man Records in Nashville, TN. He is wearing a gray sweatshirt and khaki pants.

A Nashville native, Max moved to New York to begin his career in film in 2004 after graduating from Vanderbilt University. During his time in New York, he had the good fortune to work on the projects of Academy-Award-winning directors, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, and Neil Jordan. In working on these projects, he was exposed to the film workers, also at the top of their individual fields, who helped these directors realize their visions. Through this experience, he gained an appreciation for the importance of the collaborative nature of film.

Neil Jordan, James Schmidt, and Max A. Butler sitting on the loading dock of Technicolor at 110 Leroy Street, New York, NY on May 5, 2006 during the making of THE BRAVE ONE.

Since returning home to Nashville in 2008, Max expanded his experience by producing commercials, concert specials, and music videos; while continuing to work on long-form projects. He began producing music videos in 2011, commercials in 2013, and production managed his first film that same year.

John Nein and Max A. Butler standing on the stage of the Eccles Theater holding microphones. Behind them is a large screen with text that reads 'Film Team Q&A' and mentions the Sundance Film Festival 2023.

While he enjoys producing across the board, Max's passion still remains in film. His first feature-producing credit, Angus MacLachlan’s A LITTLE PRAYER, premiered at Sundance in 2023 and can be seen on Amazon Prime. His most recent producing credit, BriTANick’s PIZZA MOVIE, premiered at SXSW 2026 and can be seen on HULU.

Group of diverse people posing in front of Columbia Regional Hospital entrance at night.

Previously, he line produced So Yong Kim’s LOVESONG, which premiered in competition in 2016, and Kogonada’s COLUMBUS, which premiered the following year. Max also had the opportunity to production manage Alex Lehmann’s PADDLETON, the Duplass Brothers film for Netflix, which had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Close-up of a Max A. Butler wearing a gray Columbia jacket and a black baseball cap with a gold V on the front, standing on a black beach near Vik, Iceland at sunrise in November of 2016.

He also line produced Kerem Sanga’s THE VIOLENT HEART (21 Laps, Material Pictures, 3311, Ed McDonnell, and Endeavor Content), which premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, and Sammi Cohen’s CRUSH (Animal Pictures, Depth of Field, and American High) for Hulu which premiered in 2022.